TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1) by Kallypso Masters (the false prince TXT) 📕

TONY: working saturday. how about a hike sunday?

Surely a hike wouldn’t result in blazing fantasies. He could choose a strenuous trail that would leave them both exhausted and unable to do much afterward. Right?

Except that they were both in incredibly good shape.

CARMELLA: Sorry. Sandro’s out of town. Need to be at the resort.

TONY: work tuesday and friday. how’s next weekend look?

Tony filled his lungs as he waited for a response. Being with her had been good for him.

CARMELLA: Sunday’s good. Your place or mine?

TONY: yours. be there by ten.

CARMELLA: See you then!

He didn’t send another message and stopped stroking his cock because at this point his worry about screwing this thing up had replaced any sexual fantasies. He turned onto his side and closed his eyes but couldn’t stop thinking about her and their upcoming date. Because this would totally be a date, no getting around it.

What was he doing? Carm deserved someone better than he was. Someone who wouldn’t hurt her.

At some point, Tony must have dozed off, but he woke up in the middle of the night stroking an erection harder than the one he’d given up on earlier.

Wait! I fell asleep! He glanced at the clock. Okay, only for ninety minutes, but he hadn’t been visited by the ghosts of the victims he’d been unable to save.

Instead, he’d been in the midst of a full-fledged, flaming-hot erotic dream. The memories poured over him. Cupping her high, full breasts—no longer in a bra. Caressing the length of her torso until his hands slid her panties down her long legs, and he spread her thighs open. Burying his fingers into her short, wet curls…

And then he’d woken up.

Wide awake, he headed to the bathroom for a second shower tonight. This time, he followed through and jerked off to thoughts of what might have been if he hadn’t let his big-brother sensibilities overpower his baser instincts.

Although his last sexual encounter had involved a condom, Tony decided he’d better get tested tomorrow. Not because he intended to let this attraction with Carm go too far, but it never hurt to be careful if things got out of control again.

Carm was a passionate woman. They’d both enjoy the hell out of sex when the time was right. She was also a smart girl. He’d leave it to her to realize how detrimental an intimate relationship between them could be. Undoubtedly, she’d send him packing.

Under the warm spray, he satisfied himself with torridly explicit fantasies of her.

Unfortunately, when he returned to bed this time for more sleep, the screams of the drowning victims obliterated Carm’s passionate ones from his earlier dream.

Friday afternoon, he had his second session with Lisa, and he revealed that recurring nightmares were the main reason for his insomnia. He shared a few details about the incident at the river, and she described several techniques to him and gave him detailed instruction sheets to try at home.

“Changing the dialogue in your head before bedtime will be the key, but it could take weeks before you see results. Just try the deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation techniques and we’ll talk more at our upcoming sessions.”

“Sure thing.” He didn’t mention what had worked so far—Carm.

“And stick to a sleep schedule as best you can. Skipping or delaying sleep will only make the frequency and intensity of the nightmares worse.” Not to mention making him feel like crap on the days he worked.

She also handed him several worksheets to fill out before their next session to evaluate what worked and what didn’t. He’d expected therapy sessions to be where issues were resolved and not to have so much homework to do, but she explained that the bulk of his progress would take place outside her office.

They talked some more and practiced some of the techniques, then at the end of the session, Lisa handed him a list of alternative activities that might help relieve some of his PTS symptoms. Scuba diving had been at the bottom of the list, but it nearly jumped off the page at him. Images of Carm in her two-piece bathing suit undulating in Caribbean-blue waters with colorful fish paying homage to her gorgeous body flitted across his mind.

“See something that interests you?”

Tony glanced up from the paper, surprised to find Lisa staring at him. “Uh, yeah. Scuba diving.”

“I put it farther down the list because it’s an expensive option, but if you’d like to take a Try Scuba session, I can hook you up with an excellent dive instructor in the area.”

“Here in Colorado?”

“Oh, there are a number of dive schools in Colorado. Most are in Denver and Colorado Springs, but the guy I’m thinking of is right up the road in Dillon. There’s also a dive shop in Aspen.” She explained that Tony would begin by practicing skills in a swimming pool. When ready, he’d complete his open-water certification in a local lake or reservoir.

Tony loved to swim and didn’t want to develop an irrational fear of water on top of his other problems, but the idea of the lake worried him. “I’m not too worried about open-water diving.” A peaceful lake was different from a raging river. He shouldn’t have issues with triggers there.

“Take it one step at a time, Tony.” She pointed to the paper in his hand. “I’d like for you to give the other relaxation and activity suggestions on the list some consideration, too, even though I have the feeling your mind’s already made up.” She smiled as she swiveled her chair around and pulled something from the center drawer of her desk. “Here’s a card for the dive instructor in Dillon.” She handed him a blue business card.

He wouldn’t say anything to Carm about it yet. Better to wait and see how the initial lessons went, but if they went well, perhaps the two of them could scuba dive together sometime.

Was Carm becoming the workout buddy Lisa had suggested he find?

And just what other workouts